3 Unconventional Motivation Restoring Tricks

Or…how to get out of your funk and into action

I will NOT ask you to recite positive affirmations while looking into the mirror. I’m too existential. But what I can do is share with you a few unconventional methods to move beyond your funk and get into action.

1. Treat the blues by Wallowing.

Wallow verb ˈwä-(ˌ)lō to indulge oneself immoderately.

Most motivational speakers want you to be positive, think positive, fake it until you make it. Not me. I say if you are in a foul mood – wallow in your mood.

The catch? You can’t wallow forever. Limit your wallowing. A 30 minute wallowing session will help you get it out of your system. But you can’t do it half way. If you are going to do it you have to go 100% – full throttle! Of course you have to keep it reasonable – don’t put yourself or anyone else in danger.

Example: If I’m feeling sad and blue. I watch a movie that makes me cry and sob. I go through a box of tissue and then afterwards, I feel spent. Then, I’m ready to move on to the next thing. The funk is out of my system.

2. Treat attention deficit with short attention bursts.

You want to flit around from flower to flower like a bumble bee? O.K.. than really do it! You have 30 minutes to do 30 different things. You can not spend more than 60 seconds on any one thing. Go!

The catch? No working on the project you were trying to get done while experiencing attention deficit.

Example: Want to read email – do it for 60 seconds. Want to watch TV? Do it for 60 seconds. Want to take a nap? Do it for 60 seconds. Want to flip through a magazine? Go get the mail? Stop by a co-worker’s desk for a chat? Do it all – 60 seconds at a time.

3. Treat brain drain with a head rush.

Your brain isn’t working. You have no ideas, can’t form full sentences, just can’t think! So stop thinking for a few minutes. Get up off your butt. Go to a private location (so people don’t find out how weird you are…) and do one of two things: do a headstand (if you can); or do a forward bend. The objective here is to get the blood flowing to your brain – that nice little head rush!

The catch? You can’t think about anything but the headstand or forward bend pose. Nothing but the pose!

Example: You have been working on that report for hours. Now, your brain is empty. You even thought you heard it go ‘ping’ about a minute ago. The problem is you have 3 more reports to write and you have to get out of this funk. You go into the conference room and close the door. You do a forward bend for a few minutes.

Commonly Unconventional

You may have noticed a trend in these techniques. It’s about taking the mood (or state of funk) for what it is and moving it through it’s course so you can get to the other side. You can apply that approach to any form your funk takes. These are just a few examples.

Challenge.

Actually, there is no challenge today. Life is full of funk without another challenge from me. Some of the funk is self inflicted, while the rest is part of the absurd human existence. Go forth and be human!